IRS pulls the plug on tardy nonprofits

Almost a year ago, in August 2010, the Internal Revenue Service announced that some 10,000 New Jersey nonprofit organizations – and hundreds of thousands of others across the U.S. – were in danger of losing their tax-exempt status because they had not complied with revised income-filing laws.
They were given until Oct. 15, 2010, to file the necessary paperwork.

In the Garden State, 7,877 failed to do so and have now had their status officially revoked. And the groups apparently include dozens in the towns The Observer covers.
We say “apparently” because the list published earlier this month by the IRS includes some entities that are now defunct, e.g., the Kearny PAL and the West Hudson Hospital Auxiliary. In fact, the IRS itself “believes the vast majority . . . are defunct.”
But it behooves anyone who has any connection to any nonprofit group to go to www.irs.gov and check the data. Just in case.